WHEN THEY SPEAK OF RITA Daisy B. Foote's drama, about a discontented housewife in rural New Hampshire. (Pnmary Stages, 354 W. 45th St. 333-3052.) LONG RUNS ANNIE GET YOUR GUN Marquis, Broadway at 45th S1. 307-4100. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Lunt-Fontanne, 205 W. 46th St. 307-4747. BLUE MAN GROUP/TUBES Astor Place Theatre, 434 Lafayette St. 254-4370. CABARET Studio 54, at 254 W 54th St. 239-6200. CHICAGO Shubert, 225 W 44th St. 239-6200. TH E COUNTESS Lamb's, 130 W 44th St. 997-1780. DE LA GUARDA Daryl Roth, 20 Union Sq. E., at 15th Sr. 239-6200. DINNER WITH FRIENDS Variety Arts, 110 Third Ave., at 14th St. 239-6200. THE FANTASTICKS Sullivan Street Playhouse, 181 Sullivan St., at Bleecker St. 674-3838. FORBIDDEN BROADWAY Stardust, Broadway at 51st St. 239-6200. FOSSE Broadhurst, 235 W. 44th St. 239-6200. FULLY COMMITTED Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St. 239-6200. I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE Westside, 407 W. 43rd St. 239-6200. JACKIE MASON: MUCH ADO ABOUT EVERYTHING Golden, 252 W. 45th St. 239-6200. JEKYLL & HYDE Plymouth, 236 W 45th St. 239-6200. THE LION KING New Amsterdam, 214 W. 42nd St. 307-4100. LES MISÉRABLES Imperial, 249 \X . 45th St. 239-6200. OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS John Houseman, 450 W 42nd St. 239-6200. PERFECT CRIME Duffy, 1553 Broadway, at 46th St. 695-3401. RENT Nederlander, 208 W 41st St. 921-8000. STOMP Orpheum, 126 Second Ave., at St. Marks PI. 477-2477. TONY N' TINA'S WEDDING St. Luke's Church, 308 W. 46th St. 239-6200. THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES Westside, 407 W. 43rd St. 239-6200. DANCE PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE For its annual monthlong engagement, the six- member company brings three programs, each of which includes three repertory works and a première. The featured première for the troupe's second week is "Tantra Aranea," a duet for Josie Coyoc and Matt Kent. (Joyce Theatre, 175 Eighth Ave., at 19th St. 242-0800. July 4 at 5, July 5-7 at 8, and July 8 at 2 and 8. Through July 22.) SEÁN CURRAN / ROGER SINHA Curran, a veteran of both "Stomp" and the Bill T Jones company, presents ""Abstract Concrete," a dance that grew out of his experiments with the body as a percussion instrument. Sinha, a Canadian with roots on the Indian subcontinent, applies bal- let training to bharata-natyam movement, with a dash of Irish clog dancing to spice things up. (Cen- POP NOTES HIP-HOP HOORAY Once hip-hop was about authenticity: real stories from the real streets. These days, though, rappers are just as likely to affect larger-than-life personae designed to capitalize on the middle-class public's fascination with urban grit. The Detroit rapper Eminem has spent the better part of this summer atop the charts with his second record, "The Marshall Mathers LP" (Interscope), which follows the gleefully sociopathic route carved out by his 1999 début. Though the album is filled with violent fantasies and objectionable opinions (homophobia and misogyny, primarily), Eminem's raps retain a certain charm, in part because of his adenoidal voice, in part because of his indisputable poetic abilities, and in part because his horrific imagination seems so patently fictional. While his white-rapper status raises questions about his au- thenticity, it also increases the chance that his ma- terial will be interpreted as satire. Satire or not, the album is infectious, from party songs like "The Real Slim Shady" to complex psychological por- traits like the stalker-fan nightmare "Stan." Through the latter part of the nineties, Busta Rhymes was one of the brightest lights of popular music: a rap star who dressed like a rock star, acted like a movie star, and backed up his flam- boyance with off-kilter, hypnotic hip-hop. Unfor- tunately, Rhymes's new album," Anarchy" (Elek- tra), continues the slide into gimmickry that began on his last record, "Extinction Level Event." "Get Out!!," the lead single, uses a children's chorus, à la Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life," but the effect is flat, and elsewhere Rhymes squanders cameos by Lenny Kravitz and members of the Wu-Tang Clan. All hip-hop records come with parental-advisory stickers these days, but few artists actually earn that distinction. Lil' Kim does, and then some. On "The Notorious KIM" (Atlantic), the diminutive rapper, as famous for her revealing outfits as for her music, continues to flaunt the filthy, funky persona she minted on her début, "Hard Core." Orgasmic moans abound, as well as scatological detail; in "She Don't Love You," Kim reminds an unfaithful lover of her charms with a specificity that would make Dr. Ruth blush. This record seems signifi- cantly more calculated than her first, with a roster of all-star producers brought in to push Kim up the charts. But her personality-which incorporates braggadocio and candor, along with humor and occasional vulnerability-elevates the disk above pseudo-provocation. -Ben Greenman tral Park SummerStage, Rumsey Playfield, mid- Park at 72nd St. July 7 at 8:30. No tickets necessary.) "TH RE E II The three members of Travesty Dance Company) Kimberly Karpanty, Rebecca Malcolm- Naib, and Karen Stokes, present a trio about the number three, a work developed by long-distance commu- nication. (Merce Cunningham Studio, 55 Bethune St. 539-7616. July 7-8 at 9.) "2000 DANCES II The title refers to the current year, and not the amount of works to be shown, which will be only six, by five choreographers: Lydia Johnson, Sue Bernhard, Lacy James, Catherine Seago, and Va- lerie Bull. (University Settlement, 184 Eldridge St. 989-0989. July 8-9 at 8.) HUDSON RIVER FESTIVAL The free series in Battery Park City. July 8 at 6:30: The Volosky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble leads the public in traditional dances of the Carpathian Mountains. (Esplanade Plaza, in the World Finan- cial Center.) + July 11 at 7: Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre. (Wagner Park.) "LADY Mil The choreographer Jennifer Allen and the writer Drew Pisarra represent the" Macbeth" saga from Mrs. Macbeth's perspective. With accordionist Alicia J. Rose and a quartet of women dancers, Juliette Mapp, Amy Cox, Paige Martin, and Jen Mitas, playing all roles. (Galapagos, 70 N. 6th St., Brooklyn. 718-782-5188. July 6-7 at 8.) OUT OF TOWN JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL July 4-7 at 8, July 8 at 2 and 8, and July 9 at 2: Grupo Corpo. + July 6-7 at 8:15 and July 8-9 at 5: CoisCéim Dance Theatre. (Becket, Mass. For in- formation about tickets, call 413-243-0745.) NIGHT LIFE CONCERTS MIDSUMMER NIGHT SWING Highlights of the alfresco dance festival. July 5: The Wycliffe Gordon Band. Gordon, the slippin' 'n' slidin' trombonist with connections to the Marsalis clan, has a not so secret weapon in violin- ist Miri Ben-Ari, a petite young thing who can make her instrument tear a hole in the sound bar- rier the way trumpeter Freddie Hubbard could in his prime. + July 8: Former Kid Creole and the Co- conuts member Coati Mundi spices up hIs Rumba- phonic Band with a little help from former Brand New Heavies vocalist N'Dea Davenport. + July 11: Lil' Band 0' Gold, from Lafayette, Louisiana, lives up to its name by bringing together the regional crooner Warren Storm, accordionist Steve Riley, and blues guitarist C. C. Adock, as well as a killer horn section. (Fountain Plaza, Lincoln Center. For more information, call 875-5766. All shows at 8:15. Dance lessons are offered at 6:30.) MARC ANTHONY Now that the hype surrounding the Latin invasion has faded and Ricky Martin has taken a brief hia- tus from the top of the charts, Anthony's slow- burning, substance-over-style approach is finally paying dividends. He's got his second hit single ("You Sang to Me") and an incendiary stage show. (Jones Beach Theatre. 516-221-1000. July 5 at 8.) FISH BONE The mid-eighties kings of ska-funk return with songs from "Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx," an in- spired new album that shows off an invitingly sen- sitive side. Maybe it's the inclusive group of musi- cians who lend a hand on the album--everyone from George Clinton and Perry Farrell to Donny Osmond. (Central Park SummerStage, mid-Park at 72nd St. No tickets necessary. For more infor- mation, call 360-2777. July 8 at 3.) THE WHO Pete Townshend takes a break from his Prufrockian day job with the British publishing house Faber & Faber and returns to the stage. His hearing dulled by tinnitus, Townshend now gives his classic songs the low-volume treatment, making the Who's once majestic rumble sound a bit like a neutered cover band. Fortunately, Roger Daltry's howl is as strong as ever. (Jones Beach Theatre. July 9 at 7:30.) RAHZEL The human beat box Rahzel is often found run- ning around with the hip-hop band the Roots, but he is at his best during his frequent (and fre- quently bootlegged) battles with top turntable artists like DJ Skribble and Rob Swift. The d.j.s create intricate, profoundly funky sound collages with vinyl disks and rotational motion; Rahzel does the job with no equipment other than a microphone. To call him a virtuoso is something of an understatement; he's a wizard who alchem- izes the simplest materials (air, teeth, tongue, lips) into sonic poetry. (Central Park SummerStage. July 10 at 7:30.) JIMMY PAGE AND THE BLACK CROWES The Led Zeppelin guitar god may have lost his leg- endary swagger, but his strange alliance with the seventies-flavored Southern-fried retro rock of the THE NEW YORKER, JULY 10, 2000 9